Diamond and cubic boron nitride (CBN) are known as Tools for stones. Wheels and tools made with these abrasives are used in high end applications. .
The major user industries for Tools for Stones are automobile, engineering, cutting tools, refractories, ceramics tile, glass and steel.
The characteristics of abrasives industry are as follows:
- Diverse industrial applications
- Perceivably low threats from substitute products
- Adequate raw material availability
- Application engineering support to users
The key success factors are quality, cost, delivery and application engineering.
Key inputs are abrasive grains (a large portion of which is captively procured) electricity, processed cloth, paper and resins.
The global abrasives industry is about USD 13 billion. The major players are Saint Gobain, Tyrolit, Winterthur, Sia Abrasives and 3M. Till last year, CUMI was primarily an Indian player.
The Indian market is also served by several small players operating in specific product lines and also imports. While high-end imports are certain specialty products from Europe, the low end ones are ‘price only’ products from China.